Déjà vu
by ChaosGamer
Summary: "And then, everything became very clear within my mind, like turning on a lamp; I remembered everything, except for the fact that I had nothing to remember, because they never happened."
1. Introduction

"He definitely has some instinctive talent, I'll give him that."

Numerous pictures were scattered across the table as the examiners concentrated on specific ones that caught their interest. The table itself was one of plain wood; the room itself was brightly lit. It was evaluation time; they focused on latent talents of potential future photographers.

"See, Mark, I don't understand that. To me, they're just generic photographs. What do you even see within them?"

"This type of photography can only come from an unlearned amateur." Mark Jefferson picked up one of the photographs lying on the table. The subject of the photo was on the right-hand side instead of being on the middle. The left-hand side of the photograph was covered by a large house. The road in front of the house had cars few and far between. Lampposts littered here and there across the far distant background. Dirt, gravel, asphalt and concrete were shown in detail.

"He has an eye for the rule of thirds and use of negative space; but he is not a refined professional which counter-intuitively gives him a sort of advantage in this case. He frames the photos in such a way that the settings within the shot are revealed, and that in turn gives the impression of the subjects interacting with their environment."

"I just can't see the specialty within the photos this guy took. Simply moving the subject of the shot away from the center does not give it any specialty. It just becomes off centered snapshots."

"He seems to lack practical skills needed for artistic shots, but if you will notice, all his photos contain generic scenes from everyday life; it's almost as if he is trying to make common scenes appear unique through the use of perspective. I feel that he has untapped talent in him. His application also shows him taking a major in computer graphical arts, so we could place him into photography course as a minor."

"Mm, well, let's place him in consideration for now, and move on to next applicant... We still have many other applicants to see."

* * *

"Aw, come on!" Exarchos groaned as he began to sort through the submitted photos. "You have got to be kidding me... Hey, Warren, got a minute?"

"What's up?" Taking off his headphones, he turned to face Exarchos. "Anything wrong?"

"See these pictures?" He turned the monitor to Warren's direction.

"Oh yeah! These were the ones you asked me to submit for you, since you were in a hurry doing something else, and all."

"Do you see anything wrong with them?" Exarchos raised his eyebrows.

"Nah, they look pretty cool."

"They are off center. They are all off center. How the heck did you not notice this?"

"I thought it was some sort of photographic strategy." Warren replied. "I mean, it still looks okay..."

"I forgot about the defect my camera had, now that I think about it. These pictures are the ones I took in a hurry as I unfortunately forgot about their requirements for my application entry. I literally had to dig out an old camera from my home and develop generic pictures I took. The subject in these photos were on center when I took the picture, but now they are off center; my camera has a separate viewfinder for framing, which was different from what I saw through the lens."

"Max thought they were pretty cool. Max is also a photography major, by the way."

"I don't care what he thinks-"

"She." He interrupted.

"I don't care what she thinks; the applicant examiners will probably ridicule my entry for this."

"Well, gee, sorry man. I thought it wouldn't be so bad..."

"-Eh, it's no big deal." Exarchos deflated. "It's not even my major, at any rate. It's just my side hustle."

"So what now? Hope for the best?"

"Pretty much. They're probably looking into it right now; nothing much I could do about it." Exarchos shrugged.

* * *

That was three weeks ago; as it turned out they had accepted my application into Blackwell. Here I was, sitting down within the photography class, taking notes like a good student.

Or was I? What if I told you that I was taking notes through a concealed technology equipped with voice-recognition software? Granted, 50% of the results were pure gibberish, but from there I was able to map out the missing pieces through memory. My days of rigorous learning of Palmer Method did not come to fruition, but in exchange I was able to relax and listen freely within class.

Out of nine people within the classroom, three of us were men; the rest were ladies. Sounds stereotypical, but that's how it was. And boy, could you feel the tension; a blondie even threw a crumpled up paper ball toward Kate.

"There you go, Victoria! Why Arbus?"

Ah, Mr. Jefferson was calling on people to ask questions... might as well listen.

"Because of her images of hopeless faces. You feel like, totally haunted by the eyes of those sad mothers and children."

"I disagree." I abruptly spoke out, gaining the attention of the entire class. This was of no surprise; I had reputation of being quite outspoken whether it be a joke or objection. "Arbus and the subjects of her photographs had completely different intention in mind; yes, you see them as who they are, and how unfitting they are in society. Yet, if you observe closely, they make absolutely no attempts to hide who they truly are. She did not take photos of them to show the hopelessness of human beings... she took them in order to capture them at their moment of triumph, where they have already overcome the prejudice within the society after they were born."

"That's an interesting and refreshing take in her photography, Exar. The general consensus is that she saw humanity as tortured... and frankly, that's bullshit."

My moment in limelight enjoyed to its fullest, I leaned back, languidly ignoring the glare Victoria sent toward my direction; she seemed infuriated at the fact that I stole the thunder.

interrupting another student, while considered a bit rude, was not as dangerous as interrupting a teacher. If you wished to interrupt a teacher with a remark, you'd best make sure that particular remark was as witty as possible.

"Me too, Victoria. He captured the essence of post-war, beat America. And there was honesty about the economic conditions of the era, but a beauty in the-"

A bright flash of light bathed the classroom.

_Click._

"I believe Max has taken what you kids call a 'selfie'..."

Maxi! I didn't know you had it in ya! I grinned inwardly as I watched her blink like a deer in headlights toward the disapproving Mr. Jefferson. Finally, she was showing her moxie... heh, Maxi, moxie...

I shan't detail her being singled out from the classroom for her sake. Besides, the period ended a minute later; as I walked out the door, I turned around to seek the attention of my classmate.

"Kate." I called out, gaining the attention of the girl who tied up her hair in a fancy bun. "Don't pay attention to haters. They hate us because they ain't us." At this point her eyes were wide, her features frozen in sudden surprise. I pointed at her with my hands forming the spiderman up-side down. "Rock on."

The guy behind me lost his shit.

* * *

Ah, there was nothing like a refreshing break at the bathroom after a long day. I had yet to consume my lunchables, but I had adequate amount of time to enjoy the free period.

Having another radical brainwave, I quickly pulled out my cellphone, tapping rapidly into the hi-tech touchscreen.

_To: Warren_

_A man spends the majority of his life attempting to gain access into the same place which he came into the world from._

How about them apples. Food for thought. I try to send informative/interesting or deep facts and thoughts to him every day. He seems to appreciate them.

"Get that gun away from me, psycho!"

...

I wasn't even sure if I heard that right. I stood still, attempting to discern faint voices from rooms across.

And then-

_BANG._

"What?" Turning the faucet off during the middle of the wash I dashed out from the room, not even bothering to dry my hands with paper towels. Turning around the corner I ran to the door of the female bathroom... where I stopped and hesitated.

I mean, come on, it was only three weeks into the school and I was about to be labeled the pervert of Blackwell Academy.

And then everything turned into white.

* * *

That was three weeks ago; as it turned out they had accepted my application into Blackwell. Here I was, sitting down within the photography class, taking notes like a good student.

Or was I? What if I told you that I was taking notes through a concealed technology equipped with voice-recognition software? Granted, 50% of the results were pure gibberish, but from there I was able to map out the missing pieces through memory. My days of rigorous learning of Palmer Method did not come to fruition, but in exchange I was able to relax and listen freely within class.

Out of nine people within the classroom, three of us were men; the rest were ladies. Sounds stereotypical, but that's how it was. And boy, could you feel the tension; a blondie even threw a crumpled up paper ball toward Kate.

_Crunch._

Poor Max. Not even a month into the school and her Polaroid camera falls to the floor. As I send an inquisitive look toward her direction, a powerful sensation of familiarity washed over my head.

"Déjà vu..." I whispered under my breath. I have experienced that before, but this was to the point where my mind threatened to blank out. Narrowing my eyes, I intensely began to concentrate, trying to think of a logical reason to have this sensation in the first place.

And then everything turned into white.

* * *

A bright flash of light bathed the classroom.

_Click._

"I believe Max has taken what you kids call a 'selfie'..."

Maxi! I didn't know you had it in ya! I grinned inwardly as I watched her blink like a deer in headlights toward the disapproving Mr. Jefferson. Finally, she was showing her moxie... heh, Maxi, moxie...

Ah, crud. The sudden sensation of intense familiarity began to pulsate more powerfully... Why? Why won't it stop? What does Max's camera crashing to the ground have to do with.. this... eh?

Her camera was inexplicably fine; not a single scratch was on its surface.

Oh come on! Not even a month into the school and I was already going insane. Logically, none of the things happened in past dozen minutes made no sense at all. Perhaps I was more fatigued than usual?

* * *

In the midst of my quiet respite at the urinal I came to a sudden realization, one that caught my entire attention. It was clear that I had forgotten to do something extremely important.

...

But then what? What did I forget to do? I already sent that text to Warren. Here, I was at a loss...

Man, I'm in pieces today! Forgetting things, becoming suddenly confused during the middle of the class. I didn't skip breakfast, and I wasn't taking any medication.

"Get that gun away from me, psycho!"

And then, everything became very clear within my mind, like turning on a lamp; I remembered everything, except for the fact that I had nothing to remember, because they never happened.

Perhaps I had eaten an edible without realizing it? That would mean an extra prayer of repentance afterward.

But I had no time to stand there and contemplate. Within seconds I was out from the bathroom and dashing toward the women's room.

_RRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG..._

_That's not what happened. That's not how any of this happens! _Furious bouts of protest exploded within me as I stilled in shock. Movements of students around me blurred, as I stood there, knowing that I was too far away from the door to precisely know who exactly came out from the bathroom, and now the crowd of students blocked my vision.

"Hey you!" The infamous security guard of the school yelled, pointing toward me. "Stop idling! You're blocking the way!"

What could I do? Only to follow the crowd outside in order to prevent suspicion against myself.

* * *

_Exarchos Apostolos... how to describe him? When Warren first introduced him to me on the first day at Blackwell, he seemed like a pretty normal guy, but then he completely went against people's expectations._

_He is this some sort of weird mixture of class clown and goody two shoes. A weird mixture of benevolence and arrogance. A weird mixture of Sir Geeks-A-Lot and Mr. Popular. Every action he makes seems to go into capturing attention; rather than be the one taking the photo he seems to want to be the photo. He always knows how to defuse the situation and turn things around with some well-placed words. To be honest, he is a little insane, not like other psychos here at campus, but like a good way, if that sounds even right. He shows off, yet he does not involve himself in any clubs or cliques. Warren tells me that he plays games all day within his dorm room except when doing his schoolwork. I guess he is a nerd on the inside like me if you think about it._

* * *

Figures. I draw Energy-Absorbing Monolith right after I take huge damage from his Grenosaurus. Talk about overpowered AIs.

"Hey, Exar."

I look up to see Max, clad with gray hoodie and jeans. "Maxi, what a pleasant surprise." I smile, pausing my game. "I see my friendly welcome being received well judging by your face. I guess students around the school were mean to you?"

She chuckled in response. "Keen as ever. I guess they could be condescending..."

"Many people you will meet will be idiots, and there will be many of them; you'll feel like an odd man out. Don't be discouraged." I shrugged. "Oh, and Warren seems to be in a hurry to see you."

"I'm going to my dorm to get his flash-drive. He won't wait long."

"I wouldn't approach the front steps, if I were you. Victoria and her friends are loitering around-"

_Splash._

I stood up with sharp intake of the breath as I felt the ice cold water touch my flesh. My phone clattered from my fingertips onto the hard floor, doused by water; and the screen cracked with a snap.

"...Great," I mumbled, as I examined the phone after picking it up. "I guess this is what I get for sitting near the fountain..."

And then everything turned into white.

* * *

"I'm going to my dorm to get his flash-drive- Exar, can you come over here for a moment?"

"Sure?" Surprised, I stood up and stood next to Max. It was an unexpected request, but I saw no harm in complying.

_Splash._

A wave of water rose up due to a ball being thrown into the fountain; it came very close to nipping our shoes.

"Well, some spidey sense you got there, Maxi." I grinned as I saw her smile in response. "Thanks. I owe you one."

"No problem."

"You know, I wouldn't have been surprised had I been actually doused in that water. It's been heck of a day; all day long I've been getting these weird sensations. Not enough sleep, I am guessing."

"I know exactly what you mean... well, I'd better get to my dorm to get Warren's flash-drive."

"Speaking of your dorm, Victoria and her friends are loitering around the front steps. I wouldn't try to enter through that entrance if I were you. If they give you any trouble, you can just give me a call. Peace out." Striking a pose to her direction, we parted ways as I sat near a nearby tree. Homework could wait.


	2. In which Exarchos figures it out

Ever had been rather glad that you were friendly and amiable to someone who turned out to be important and influential later on?

The very distinction of being their 'friend' gives one much more benefit in terms of daily life – but before I go on, I'd better explain what exactly happened.

One gets admittedly tired of playing on their device while sitting on uncomfortable cinderblocks; standing up, I began to stretch and wander out toward the exit across the women's dorm. The men's dorm was my destination. Upon my venture toward the front door of the women's dorm I witnessed a streak of white paint all over the front porch.

"Maxi... I can't really see you splashing wet paint on them, but if you did, kudos to ya." I muttered. If so, my respect for her grew. Since when did she gain such guts? Did she begin to eat red meat or something? And speaking of Max there she was, right near the bench. As I moved toward her to inquire whether she had any involvement with the paint all over the front steps, I had yet another bout of intense head spinning. I was really in pieces today.

"Alyssa, move your head." Her voice reached where I stood, faint as it was.

"If you insist, Max."

Right after the girl on the bench shifted her position the ball flew from the jock standing several yards behind them, deflecting against the ground and smashing itself against one of the dorm window.

Okay, that was too weird. Max didn't even see the ball launched into the air! I was joking when I commented on her senses, but this was getting ridiculous. Not to even mention the constant sense of familiarity of the entire situation.

Don't tell me...

Max is behind all this? At this moment I could not comprehend how she was related to my head issues, but the suggestion was still there within my mind.

But it was still quite silly to suddenly accuse her of paranormal activities; I needed more proof, more data...

...

Perhaps I would have to wait before engaging a conversation with Max. Less participating, more observing... resuming my way toward the men's dorm I began to recount the various sensations I had felt during classes today. So far, I had experienced more than a dozen of them, which was on grounds for checking myself into a hospital. Oh boy, if I was going insane, couldn't my brain have saved it for when I actually grow old? Filled with dreadful thoughts I entered into my room, intent upon actually attempting to finish my homework early, rather than to procrastinate till the end of the day.

"...Hmm, the water is out..."

Standing up, I walked outside my dorm room door as I needed to purchase the pack of water bottles from the cafeteria. Then, right in the middle of the hallway was none other than Warren Graham himself.

"Heyy, Warren!... Whoa! What happened to your face?" Becoming more and more concerned I began to march up toward him, fully intending to inspect his black eye.

"Ah, well, uh, it's nothing." Warren chuckled sheepishly. "I just fell and hit my eye, that's all."

"Yes, and you were apparently tripped by Bill Murray, and he told you, 'No one will believe you.' Now tell me what happened."

He was clearly at a dilemma of the whole situation. Indecisive, he began to glance back and forth, his hands behind his neck.

"Warren, you know me. I'll find out regardless of whether you tell me or not."

"Fine, fine... I just got into a fight with a jock and he head-butted me."

"Who was it? I'll bash his skull in!" Furious I began to march down the hallway, rolling back my sleeves.

"Whoa, whoa, you don't need to do that. Besides, it's no big deal-"

"Warren, you let them pick on you once, they'll pick on you forever. Better to quash their thoughts before it goes out of control."

"Look, I engaged a fight with him to protect Max. It was a fair fight; the Security guy broke us up pretty quick. You know how tight that officer is on campus things."

"-Protect Max?" Frowning, I looked back toward him. "Why was this guy after Max in the first place?"

"No idea. Something about Max knowing something about him that she shouldn't. I don't think she did anything wrong, honestly."

"That's all you can remember?"

"Well, something about Max hiding within a bathroom, I don't know..."

Bathroom. At this point it was pivotal location within my thoughts, not only for the possible list of jokes, but because of the fact that I truly felt something amiss while being near it. Something... otherworldly.

"Hmm..." I hummed, slightly calming down. "Is Max okay?"

"Someone else drove up to her truck and the driver knew Max, or something. I think she is safe for now."

"Yes, well, come inside my room anyway. I have a medical kit. I'll do something about that black eye." Shooing Warren inside I began to form my unique hypothesis... it was evident that Max had something to do with the entire mess.

* * *

I didn't even bother to finish up the homework – I was on a stakeout outside in the cold weather. There had been an unexpected snow, of all things, and now white fluff from the heavens were decorating the ground. We were in North-West region of US, but still, it was only the first week of October. Despite the cold I was waiting for someone to come walking back to the dorm... if she had not come back already. After the first hour, I began to have doubts as to the utility of my hurried plan. But than again, if not today, than tomorrow. I had the rest of the school year.

Finally, seemingly as a reward for my troubles, there was Max, walking across the schoolyard back to her dorm... this theory of mine was a bit more insane than usual, but there was no harm in trying.

Well, that wasn't really true. If it turned out that Max had nothing to do with this at all, things would become quickly awkward. Now, in order to properly perform this experiment I required her to be under one of the surrounding school lamps in order to properly gauge her emotions, as it was dark night at this point. Carefully timing the entire process I typed in a brief message and sent her the text. I seriously hoped that she had notifications on.

And, just like I planned, she took the cellphone out and took a look at the message.

* * *

_From: Exarchos_

_I know what you are doing._

* * *

Almost imperceptibly her face paled as she gazed at the message for quite some time. Step one of the experiment correlated to my hypothesis, but she could still be thinking about another thing entirely.

I sighed. This was a bit too easy. Stepping out from behind the corner I approached Max, my face impassive. Noticing my presence Max stared at me like a frightened kitten.

"I assume you got my message..." I began, my hands within my pockets, slightly shivering in the middle of the snow; we were both quivering within the chilly air. Why were we out here in the first place? Oh right, the experiment... ignoring the protest from my skin I continued. "At first I thought my hypothesis was a bit absurd, but than again, we are standing in middle of snow in early October."

She did not reply. She simply stood there, absorbing my every word.

"Now, I don't know much, but I do know that I have been experiencing this maddening sensation of Déjà vu all day. It feels like I went through the same exact events dozen times over." Frowning, I began to scratch the back of my neck. "And I had a feeling that this had something to do with what you were doing."

"You noticed?" She sounded half hopeful and half amazed. "For the entire day no one had any idea, and you _noticed_?"

"Of course I noticed. I noticed it near the bathrooms. I noticed it within the classrooms. I noticed it while walking across campus... I noticed it while I was talking to you. Now, the question is, what exactly you are doing that causes all this?"

Short silence ensued as we both began to scrutinize each other. Both of us asked ourselves different questions, having different doubts.

"...Are we talking about the same thing?" Max asked.

"Hopefully." I replied. She sighed in response, the air becoming white due to her breath.

"Let's... go inside first. I'll explain everything."

* * *

Within the girl's dorm room hallway we sat across from each other, our backs on the opposite walls.

"You remember the Photography class today."

"Sure."

"Well, I had this sort of vision in the middle of the class- I was standing near the lighthouse not far away from this school. There was this great tornado, its diameter about several hundred yards across, I'd guess. And when I tried to move toward the lighthouse one of the yachts swept up by the tornado struck the lighthouse itself, and the debris began to fall right where I was-"

"And you woke up."

"Yeah. And long story short I found out that I could go back in time."

"...Go back in time. Sure. That's nothing out of commonplace." I replied. "So when you correctly answered Jefferson's question-"

"I went back in time after knowing the answer."

"Hence my intense sensation of Deja vu."

"Probably."

"So when you warned me about the splash of water-"

"Time travel."

"...Huh. Kinda fits in with what I witnessed so far; if only were your answer not so bizarre."

"I know this might be kind of hard to believe, but I can travel back in time."

"Well, that's for me to believe, and for you to prove..." Sitting up straight I began to come up with an adequate test. "Let's see here; you guess three things that are on my mind, and I'll believe ya. Oh, and I'd better give you the answers first. The first thing on my mind is a pair of Reeboks, the second is a pair of leather gloves, and the third is the head of the Loch Ness monster. Now all you need to do is to reverse time and tell me those things in order. Shouldn't be that hard."

And then everything turned into white.

* * *

"Well, that's for me to believe, and for you to prove..." Sitting up straight I began to come up with an adequate test. "Let's see here; you guess three things that are on my mind, and I'll believe ya."

Another sensation of familiarity of the whole scene washed over me- which meant...

"Oh, and I believe I already gave you the answers." I spoke while giving a sly smile. Max's eyes widened with surprise. "How did you know...?"

"Deja vu, remember? Now go on, shouldn't be that hard."

"-The things in your mind are these in order: a pair of Reeboks, a pair of leather gloves, and the head of the Loch Ness Monster."

Shoot. She actually guessed them all correctly without any hiccups. Which meant that she could go back in time.

...

This opened up a whole 'nother range of possibilities.

"Well... you actually guessed them all." Mildly overcome with the entire situation I leaned back against the wall. "This also means you could've avoided this entire situation by going back in time and controlling your reaction against my message..."

"I could've, but I'm not that cruel." She gave a wry grin. "I feel like that would be messing too much with rights of other people, you know... And I have a feeling you would have figured out my secret over and over again, even if I tried to avoid it."

"Naturally. Well, this is a lot to take in..." I stood up, stretching my arms. "Better get back before anyone notices... Oh, and did you ever find out why you were having that vision of the tornado?"

"Well, um, I experienced it again while I was with an old friend several hours ago, and when I picked up a stray newspaper near me, the date that was printed on there was October 11th, this Friday..."

"Wait, wait, hold up, don't tell me this entire place is going to be swallowed up this Friday!?"

"I'm afraid that's exactly what it means." Max nodded grimly. "And I'm trying to find a way to prevent it..."

"...Whoa, this is heavy." I muttered, mildly shocked at the news. "How do you plan to stop a tornado? It's the ultimate representation of the nature's wrath."

"It doesn't matter. I have to stop it. If I don't, tons of people will die."

"-I see. But you are wrong, I hope you know that." She looked up at my unexpected response. "_We_ have to stop it. I can't go on my daily life knowing what will happen. I probably won't be able to do much, but two brains are better than one."

"Exar, you don't have to involve yourself."

"What are you even saying Maxi? Involving myself is my forte." I grinned, approaching the door.

"Oh, and one more thing." Max continued. "I'm trying to research the entire science behind my powers... if you could send any helpful links to my email, that would be great."

"I'll send you something, but I can't make any promises on them being coherent, understandable information." I shrugged, my hand on the doorknob. "You know, I attempted - and mostly succeeded - trying to be nice to everyone as much as possible; I guess this is my payoff, huh. You never know when that lonely geek happens to gain unfathomable powers... See you tomorrow, Max."

I stepped outside and closed the door shut.


	3. Negligence led to drastic consequences

**Been six months already, huh?**

**When one writes, one must push to write.**

* * *

Alright, it's been a heck of a day. I'm right now under the impression that similar series of turbulent events will follow for quite some time – I am rather hoping that nothing more drastic will happen, but to be honest, who knows.

The country hipster music, the country-like landscape in Oregon – every time I take a look, it somehow depresses me further. It appears that I am a city type of person who wishes to look at busy buildings and people; perhaps I am feeling homesick about the Coastal regions. Yet I still was there in the Arcadia Bay, for some inexplicable reason.

And now I had further reasons to stay; the details I gleaned from the series of events that had happened obligates me so. But before we are able to explore them, I have to recount a tale, a story I am involved in.

* * *

"Every single time..." With a grunt I waved my glass of water in a haphazard manner at one of my acquaintances who was dancing like there was no tomorrow. Again and again I was talked into being the designated driver for others - apparently I was the only option, seeing that I refused to drink due to my faith. Being in a bar was a very questionable action for a Christian, but by having the task of driving the car sober, I supposed that I was doing the right thing. Many events had happened, and unremarkable and uneventful as they might have been, I remember one thing very distinctly.

Kate was one of my acquaintances (and you will have to forgive me for using that word often, for I only knew these people for about a month or two) who shared my knowledge of the Bible. Compared to those who I admired my comprehension and understanding of the holy book was woefully lacking - but I knew enough to hold an intelligent conversation about it. Kate led various religious groups and participated in Meals on Wheels program and led the school's abstinence program. One of the precious few who were actually awake.

But, if so, why did I see her roaming around the dance floor? Her movements and speech were rather unusual for someone who was not supposed to drink. Perhaps she decided to let go of her inhibitions? On the inside I condemned her for her actions – and yet at the same time I began to grow worried about her. Standing up I approached her, hoping to find out what was actually going on.

"Exarchos!" She giggled the moment her eyes landed on my face and began to stumble toward my direction. "Such a nice surprise, seeing you here - I see you go to parties too! That makes me feel so much better!"

She had an intoxicating smile on her lips, and her voice was several octaves higher than usual. She tripped around in an unsteady way, and her eyes were glazed over. Her pupils were constricted, and she looked as if she could collapse at any moment.

Next thing I knew I found her gripping my arm as she leaned her face toward me. With haste I quickly ducked out from the way, and caught her before she fell, unbalanced. Her skin was cold, and yet for some reason she felt warm. Her hair was messier than usual, but still held its form. Her body was of ideal proportions, and there was something dangerously alluring about the way she behaved at the current moment.

She looked beautiful. And in the next moment I harshly rebuked myself for thinking in that way at the current moment - as a human being I was inevitably weak, I was inevitably sinful. Disregarding the storm going on within my mind I set her upright, holding her shoulders.

"Hey, what happened to you?" I questioned, examining her condition. "You don't act like this. This is different from Kate Marsh that I know of."

"Oh, Exar." She sighed, and hint of sherry was evident from her breath. "If only you knew. If only you can see how free I feel at the present moment."

"Get a hold of yourself; you are drunk, or on drugs." I firmly replied. "Did you drink anything?"

Of course she took no heed to my words, based on the way she was attempting to grab my face. Quickly I removed myself from her while pondering my next course of action. What would be the logical and helpful thing to do in this situation?

"Exar! Exar!" One of my acquaintances rushed up to me, clearly in a state of excitement. "My parents just texted me, and they're coming home early! I have to be there before they come, or I'm f***ed!"

Most students within this party attended Blackwell Academy, which meant that they needed not to worry about their parents (who lived presumably far enough away) seeing them in their degenerate state. Not so for my dear friend here; he asked me to drive and sneak him into this party as he wanted to crash hard. It was apparent that he was in the process of becoming drunk, but the sudden message from his parents doused him with harsh reality, temporarily driving him sober. If he drove on his own, there was no guarantee as to what would happen - realizing that, he came to me.

...

What should I do? Leaving my friend there would be going against my own words, but Kate appeared to be my biggest worry at the moment. What to do, what to do...

"Kate, there you are." A kid in a red jacket approached us three, another drink in his hands. "I've been looking for you - hold on, what happened?"

Kate droned off in another slurred speech while I took over. "She appears to be drunk, and it is possible that she is currently on a substance. I need to get her to safety immediately."

"I see. Don't worry, I'll take her to the nearest hospital." His smile appeared to be genuine, and his actions were very clear and unsubtle, contrasting greatly with other drunken fools meandering around the dance floor. He appeared trustworthy, and woefully, I did not know who he was. I had seen him several time around the school, so I knew that he was indeed a student at the Academy. Could I trust this person?

"Exar, please!" my acquaintance begged.

"Fine, fine." I acquiesced, turning back toward the man in red jacket. "I'll leave her to you, then. Please take care of her."

"Don't worry, I will." He proclaimed proudly, and for a moment I felt reassured. But only for a brief moment. The man smiled at me, his bright, white teeth gleaming starkly against the dark atmosphere of the party.

Just like that, I left Kate Marsh prematurely.

I had forsaken her.

* * *

I had assumed that she indeed was sent to a hospital, and I had assumed that things went back to normal, and I chalked up her reclusive behavior to another cause.

I was terribly naïve, and at the same time, way too focused on my own problems. That was my flaw. I made vague attempts at brightening her mood, but most likely I simply made things worse. Slowly but steadily she withdrew from all her activities, mostly spending her time with her head down. The introduction of her video (which most likely incriminated her to great extent) only exacerbated the matter. I speculated that she received negative letters from her family members (most likely, they were devoutly religious also) and that combined with harassment from other students led her to... these series of events.

I realized that she was not actually taken to a hospital when I saw Kate standing up there on the top of the school. She was suffering from an emotional wound that we were all too busy to notice. I was indeed too far away when she began to fall.

Then, time stopped. Objects in air stood almost still as I looked around in wonder; I saw Max far away, her nose drenched in blood.

"That's one heck of a power..." I mumbled, as I sprinted away to find something to help with.

* * *

The crowd was amazed when they suddenly saw Max up there with Kate. No one could figure out how or why she was even up there; but they all held their breath as they watched Max attempt to convince Kate not to jump.

I, on the other hand, was more cynical and pragmatic about the entire situation. If Max's method did not work, I had to bring out the backup plan... all I knew was that, if things went according to my predictions, Kate would somehow be able to survive.

When Kate jumped - and she did jump - I approximated the location she would fall to, and placed myself on the ground, and braced for impact. During my brief trip before, I managed to wrap my body with as many pillows I was able to find; I contemplated about using a mattress but that method was too impractical for the time constraint I had.

I was under the impression that the pillows would actually help.

* * *

And, again, I was terribly naïve.

Pillows may have had contributed to lessen the blow, but I still felt the full impact and was for few minutes dazed from the resulting pain. People uselessly ran amok, yelling about this and that, interfering instead of helping. Next thing I knew Max was standing over me, her expression rather hollow.

"Turn it... back..." I grunted, twisting my neck toward her direction. "Turn it back... turn it all back."

"I can't." She whispered, her eyes glistening with tears. "I used up all my power when I stopped time."

"It matters not. Rest and do it again... you may think things have worked out for the best, when I barely saved Kate from dying from impact," I glanced toward Kate, and checked to see that her chest heaved up and down, indicating that she still was breathing. "but then you would be lying to yourself. You have to go back, and you have to convince her not to fall in the first place – otherwise, who knows when she will try to kill herself again?" I made a painful grimace. "I abandoned her, we all abandoned her. Only you can make things right with your power. Fix our mistakes, yours and mine."

Hiccuping from her tears, Max closed her eyes, and held up her arm.

And then, everything turned into white.

* * *

My arm, legs, torso, hips, and other body parts I did not bother to label – they all hurt. As I lay on the ground, I attempted to muster some sort of strength to raise myself, despite knowing that doing so would make my wounds worse.

But at once I noticed that I was upright once more, meters away from the impact spot. I was spotless – clean, and my body was restored. Time had rewound again, it appeared. This was where my intense sensation of Deja vu was supposed to kick in, but instead of a raging headache I gradually began to remember what I had experienced before the time flip. Like sand, coming down from the narrow hole little by little, I began to gain recollection.

Max had succeeded. Kate stepped away from the roof, and people cheered in response. I sat down on the ground, letting out a breath I had been holding.

Things were to become more complicated from here on out.


End file.
